This election season has given rise to an interesting phenomena - GOP candidates exposing the true aims of the GOP. When Mourdock and Akin speak of not allowing abortion, even in the case of rape or incest - make no mistake - these candidates exist at the will of the broader GOP. When Mitt Romney says we need mean like Richard Mourdock in the Senate, when Paul Ryan has sided with, co-sponsored and supported basically every anti-choice bill that Todd Akin ever dreamed of - one can only assume that they agree with them. That they support the idea of women being nothing more than incubators doomed to carry any embryo that happens to embed itself in her uterus - no matter how it got there. I, for one, reject the idea that my body is equal to a growlight in an aquarium - but I think all of this is distracting us from the larger aims of the GOP.You have to wonder why these "fringe" elements are getting mainstream support - even though mainstream candidates seem to want to distance themselves from them. This is on purpose. By having these men out themselves as the most extreme form of knuckle-draggers - it makes all other candidates look "reasonable".This is much the same tactic the anti-choice zealots have used to erode the right to choice in the last twenty years. The idea that some limitations on choice are reasonable has opened the doors to all of the bullshit legislation we are seeing now. Make no mistake - the next President will seat 1-2 or more Supreme Court Justices. Women cannot afford those judges to be Antonin Scalia-ites. If anti-choice legislation makes it through Congress - a President Romney will sign it. He's already said that defunding Planned Parenthood will be a priority for his administration. The women of this country cannot afford a President Romney. You can argue that the major parties are all the same, but on this issue and the fundamental equality of women - the parties are very, very different. No woman should EVER, EVER be forced to carry a pregnancy to term against her will - consenting to sex does not equal consent to pregnancy - and Rape is Rape. It's time the GOP learned that and losing elections is the only way politicians learn.

Anyone that has been associated with the reproductive rights or feminist causes in Kansas can tell you that there are multiple factions within the movement. Teams born out of infighting, legitimate squabbles and power struggles - I'm as guilty of this as anyone. This is largely why I've withdrawn from organized activism - it becomes about organizational leadership vs. the actual cause. This can lead to short-term successes for organizations, but doesn't usually end well in the long run. Membership declines, active members give up, a power base solidifies and everyone else feels feels excluded.

However, now is the time to bury the hatchet and get to work. The Trust Women Foundation has taken a big step in buying the clinic (Dr. Tiller's former clinic) - and it's up to the people who believe in reproductive freedom to get behind them, no matter what faction you align with. As has been pointed out by multiple bloggers - the environment here is not hospitable. However, that should just harden our resolve.

THIS CLINIC MUST OPEN!

There is no other option! It is time to work together to make sure this happens. Right now, they need money for renovations! We can not allow the anti-choice terrorists to derail this, and we sure as hell can't let infighting among like-minded people to hurt this cause. The women of Wichita deserve better - we deserve access to full reproductive health care in our community and if Julie Burkhart and Trust Women are willing to fight this battle, we have to get behind them! ALL OF US!

Please donate what you can, proceeds from the Shop! are also going to this cause. It is up to us to make this happen!